The theme has three sections. I play the first theme in two different ways. A single-note version in the intro (picked with thumb and two fingers) and a beefed-up version starting in bar 11 (picked one finger per string). This is my favourite section to play. Like the Imperial March, the rhythm alone is powerful and immediately Star Wars-y. And varying the dynamics is very effective.
The second part starts in bar 7 is slower and more stately. It’s also the easiest section to play.
The third part (starting in bar 15) is the most melodic. In the original version, the first theme pops up in the background orchestration. I’ve included this in bar 18. It’s a little tricky to play. If you want to skip it, you can just pluck a few notes from the C5 chord in that bar.
It’s a short and sweet tune from Vampire Weekend’s latest album with a lovely melody and a laid-back solo. The biggest challenge is some rapid melody notes. I’ve dropped a few notes to make it easier to play.
When I got my first ukulele, I was completely clueless. This was in those dark, long forgotten days before the internet had been discovered. I didn’t even realise that the strings weren’t supposed to go thickest to thinnest and restrung it.
But you can save yourself from the social disgrace I experienced. I’ve put together a free mini-ebook covering the basics that every first time uke owner needs to know. Here’s what it contains:
Five Things to Know
Five Chords to Learn
Five Patterns to Strum
Five Songs to Play
Five Websites to Visit
Five Things to Get Free
Five Things to Buy
Five Videos to Watch
Five YouTube Channels to Subscribe to
If you can’t stand to be without a steady stream of uke, I’ll be posting on Instagram, on Twitter and Patreon. Speaking of which…
Patreon
I’ve been blown away by the amount of support I’ve received since starting the Uke Hunt Patreon in February. The amount of support has far exceeded my expectations and I’m overwhelmingly grateful to everyone who has supported the site.
All that support means I’ve been able to up the amount of tabs I’m putting out. By my count, I added 59 full tabs to the site this year compared to 34 last year. And that’s not including the monthly Patreon-only tabs.
And extra thanks to December’s Tenor backers:
– Alina Morosanu.
– Arthur Foley.
– Colleen Petticrew.
– Dan.
– Douglas.
– Elizabeth Beardsley.
– Fiona Keane.
– Joseph Freeman.
– Katherine Penney.
– Kie77.
– Leia-lee Doran.
– Lisa Johnson.
– Mr Daniel Barclay.
– Nick Parsons.
– Olga deSanctis.
– Pat Weikle.
– Pauline LeBlanc.
– Sandi Clement.
– Thorsten Neff.
– Trevor Mccravy.
I was a massive Oasis fan around the time of Definitely Maybe. So it’s a surprise it’s taken me this long to get around to doing one of their songs. Don’t Look Back in Anger took on a new significance after the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 when it was spontaneously sung at the memorial.
The song is standard Oasis fare with heavy references/blatant pilfering from the Beatles in both the lyrics and themusic. Plus a bunch of major pentatonic noodling. I skipped the guitar solo (since it’s meandering and not particularly memorable). But I have included the widdles at the end of the pre-chorus and chorus, which add to the song and are fun to play.
Who first released the songs these ukulele orchestras are covering?
11. Horndean Ukulele Group
.
12. Tenrikyo `Ukulele Orchestra
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13. Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
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14. Peninsula Ukulele Group
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15. Grand Old Uke of York
.
Name the Celeb
Which celebrity is displaying their uke?
16.
a) Madonna
b) Kylie
c) Cher
d) Adele
17.
a) Tori Belachi
b) Grant Imahara
c) Jaime Hyneman
d) Adam Savage
18.
a) Matt LeBlanc
b) David Schwimmer
c) Paul Rudd
d) Matthew Perry
19.
a) Dana Carvey
b) Mike Myers
c) Rob Lowe
d) Alec Baldwin
20.
a) Neil Finn and Lorde
b) Sam Neill and Rose Matafeo
c) Bret McKenzie and Kiri Te Kanawa
d) Taika Waititi and Jacinda Ardern
Name the Lyric
Which songs – oft covered on ukulele – are these lyrics from?
21. The bees are buzzin’ in the tree / To make some honey just for me / When you look under the rocks and plants / And take a glance at the fancy ants
22. Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain / We all have sorrow / But if we are wise / We know that there’s always tomorrow
23. Oh, the weather outside is frightful / But the fire is so delightful / And since we’ve no place to go
24. Oh, yeah, I’ll tell you something / I think you’ll understand / When I’ll say that something
25. Tastes like strawberries on a summer evenin’ / And it sounds just like a song / I want more berries and that summer feelin’ / It’s so wonderful and warm
The arrangement is dead simple so you can focus on playing it with feeling.
Don’t pay any attention to my fingering. I jacked up the tip of my index finger doing the lazy man’s load. So I’m fingering some things in a weird way.
I wasn’t familiar with XTC’s Love on a Farmboy’s Wages until it requested on Patreon. I immediately loved the acoustic riffs. They are challenging to play on uke, though. So I’ve split it into a duet with one uke covering the melody (tab above) and one covering the backing (below). The melody part is much easier to play.
Both parts are played with a capo on the 4th fret. Which puts them in the same key as the XTC version. But there’s nothing stopping you playing capo-less if you’re not playing along with the original.
Even by itself, I was having a hard time playing the riff consistently. So I have simplified it slightly. In each bar of the original there are two lots of three open E-string notes. But I’ve chopped the second lot and replaced them with a single note.
